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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Sleep to Ward Off Alzheimer’s

We’ve all heard how important sleep
is to our health. Now, a new study published in JAMA Neurology
indicates that a lack of sleep might increase our chances of
developing Alzheimer’s. Or, is it the other way around? Does
Alzheimer’s lead to a lack of sleep?

Jim always considered sleep “a waste
of time.” He was an early riser his entire life. I, on the other
hand, could barely function without eight hours sleep.

Once Jim developed dementia, he seemed
to require only about four hours sleep. Over time, I too shortened my
sleeping hours. Between Jim and being at work by seven o’clock, I
just flat didn’t have time to sleep much. My eight hours dwindled
to six or less. I knew it wasn’t good for my health, but chronic
lack of sleep became the norm.

A common New Year’s resolution for me
was to get more sleep. I’ve struggled with health problems that may
have gone away completely with enough shut-eye. One of the side
effects of sleep deprivation is weight gain. In some ways that seems
counter-intuitive. At one time I figured the longer I was awake, the
more calories I would burn and that would make it easier to lose
weight. Wrong. It takes sleep to regulate the hormones that tell us
when we are hungry. When ghrelin and leptin are not balanced, we
think we are hungry which leads to overeating.

Instead of sleep being a waste of time,
we are at our most productive while we are catching our ZZZ’s. When
we move into the deepest stage of sleep, our bodies move into
restorative overdrive. While we sleep, we are recharging our energy
levels. Our muscles relax and our blood pressure drops. Hormones
essential for tissue growth and repair are released. During sleep, we
consolidate everything we’ve learned which improves our memory.

On the flip side of the sleep coin,
lack of sleep quality or quantity may lead to serious health
disorders—heart disease, stroke, diabetes—to name a few. A couple
of other distressing side effects are depression and premature aging.

Researchers have known for years that
people who don’t get enough sleep are forgetful. This new study
takes that concern to an entirely different level. Researchers at
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore used
scans to measure the buildup of beta-amyloid plaques, one of the
hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Even healthy people can have some
plaques in their brains, but they do not have as many as people with
Alzheimer’s. The people who did not get enough sleep had more
buildup of plaques in their brains than those who reported that they
slept well at night.

Why would sleep have anything to do
with beta-amyloid plaques? It seems that while we sleep our brain is
in self-cleaning mode. During sleep our brain cells shrink which
allows cerebrospinal fluid to wash away the toxins in our brain.

Of course, this all comes with a
disclaimer that sleep might not stop Alzheimer’s, but anything that
will reduce the formation of cell-choking plaques can be seen as
therapeutic. In addition to sleep itself, the researchers believe
that drugs should be explored to force the cleansing process that can
occur naturally during deep sleep. This study just reinforces the
need to explore different avenues of treatment for Alzheimer’s.

Could our way of life contribute to an
unprecedented increase of Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and heart
disease? Research shows that healthy eating, exercise, and a good
night’s sleep work together to prevent a myriad of diseases.

As if daytime isn’t enough time to
ruin our health, we use evenings to cram in TV, Facebook,
volunteer work, meetings, social activities, or heaven forbid we take
work home. So much to do, so little time. Then when we fall into bed,
our brains are still going full tilt to remind us of what we still
have to do, or what we’ve forgotten to do. Sweet dreams are a long
time coming just to be interrupted by the alarm clock letting us know
it’s time to get up and do it all over again.

Maybe it’s time to take a deep
breath, spend some quality time relaxing and catch some extra ZZZ’s.
Sweet dreams may be the answer to some of life’s most perplexing
health issues.

One of Healthline's Top 20 Alzheimer's Blogs

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One of Healthline's Top Blogs

Voted one of Healthline's top blogs of 2012--4th Place in the Contest

Early Onset Blog in Top 25 2011 Alzheimer's Blogs - Healthline.com

Early Onset Alzheimer’s

This award-winning blog is a must-read for individuals experiencing early-onset Alzheimer’s. Less common than standard age-related dementias, early onset Alzheimer’s is virtually always a surprise to diagnosed individuals. Linda Fisher, blogger and author, knows the difficulty of this condition firsthand.

In her Early Onset Alzheimer’s blog, she teaches readers not just how to manage such a frightening condition, but also how to live life to the fullest. Her passion for helping others – showing everyone that life with Alzheimer’s is worth living – is a tremendous gift. Thank you, Linda!

Blog Awards

Early Onset Blog has received several blog awards. Due to new Google regulations, the links had to be removed. Past awards have included the #1 Health Blog , Top 10 blog in 2010, Top 25 Blog award in 2010, and a Top 50 award in 2012. We appreciate the recognition, but also understand the need to remove the links.

When Jim returned from Vietnam, he was stationed at Fort Riley, and we spent about a year and a half living in Manhattan, Kansas. With ba...

Linda's Blog Books

Books are a print version of Linda's award-winning Blog. These books are published for the benefit of those without Internet access or who just prefer to curl up with a book rather than browsing online. If you enjoy Linda's blog posts, you might want to purchase the book for a friend or family member.

Fisher began her online journal to share her experiences with families affected by early onset dementia. Her essays provide insight into family life often from a humorous viewpoint. She writes from her experiences as a longtime Alzheimer's Association volunteer and advocate and ten years as a primary caregiver for her husband, Jim.

Early Onset Blog

Alzheimer's Anthology of Unconditional Love by L. S. Fisher

The Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation

I have participated in a link exchange with the Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation. They have this blog http://earlyonset.blogspot.com/ listed in their Alzheimer's blogs.

Lindsay Nason wrote about my Early Onset Blog: "I want to thank you for sharing your powerful experience and your creative suggestions with others. . . . Your blog offers a unique and personal insight into this disease, which can be such a comfort to other members of the Alzheimer's community."

Thank you, Lindsay, for your kind words and for including the Early Onset Blog on your website.